Lidl says opening a new store in Bath “remains a priority” after it lost a years-long battle to open a supermarket in the east of the city.

Bath and North East Somerset Council refused planning permission for the proposed new Lidl on London Road on October 21. The council warned of the “severe highway impact” of building the supermarket on the notoriously congested road, alongside potential impacts on the UNESCO World Heritage Site, bats and nearby local shops in Larkhall.

A spokesperson for Lidl GB told the Journal: “We are currently reviewing the full details of the refusal to determine our next steps. Delivering an additional store for Bath remains a priority, and alongside assessing this site, we continue to explore other potential opportunities across the wider area to deliver for local shoppers.”

They added: “We are grateful for the massive support shown by local residents throughout the application process, which reflects the clear demand for a new Lidl store in this part of Bath. While we are naturally disappointed by the council’s decision, we recognise that pre-existing highway challenges along London Road remain complex.”

The only Lidl in Bath is in Twerton, on the far side of the city, and there are no other budget supermarkets. The proposed Lidl had been fiercely opposed by other shops including the Co-op in Larkhall as well as Bath’s big supermarkets like Morrisons and Waitrose.

The new supermarket would have created up to 40 jobs but the idea of building on a field full of wildlife on the notoriously congested London Road was hugely controversial. 259 people lodged their support of the plan with the council but 739 lodged objections.

Bath’s Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse, who was among the objectors, said: “In my opinion, the proposal amounted to cultural vandalism. This is a welcome decision for the many Bathonians who have made their voices heard throughout the planning process.”

She said: “I have heard from numerous residents who share my concerns that the plans for a superstore would have created a lot of extra traffic on the already busy London Road and disrupted existing local businesses.

“I’m delighted that the planning department has taken these concerns seriously. The decision today highlights the importance of this site from both an ecological and heritage point of view.”

The decision to refuse planning permission was also welcomed by the two Green councillors who represent the Lambridge area where it would have been built, Joanna Wright and Saskia Heijltjes. Ms Wright said: “We have been fighting this for nearly four years. Clearly it matters a lot in the city.

“I know that a lot of people are concerned about the cost of living crisis and they would like cheaper food but they also really recognise the impact on the highways that this was going to have. It was going to cause so much disturbance in the east of Bath.”

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